Amazing Ourselves to Death Ch. 5-9

The “Breaking the News” chapter reminded me a lot of the topics we discussed in Windows and Mirrors. Blurring the lines between fiction and reality becomes an everyday norm for today’s society in which movies and media play a major role in people’s lives. We can no longer tell if we are looking at a window or a mirror when we watch things like the news because we are so used to seeing the same images being depicted in movies and fictional television shows. Catastrophic events like Hurricane Sandy or 9/11 seem almost like a window to those who did not experience it firsthand, when it actuality it is a mirror, reflecting what is really occurring. This blurring effect becomes dangerous as people can not properly grasp the severity of a problem. The merging of fiction and reality lowers our standards for violence, devastation, and negative events, which makes us almost build an immunity towards such things because we are so used to seeing them in fiction.

It’s also interesting to note that 9/11, along with other major news events, was so prominently recorded by everyday people. As Professor Strate says, this is also only in 2001, back before cell phone recording devices were developed and popular. Today, with well developed cameras in our phones and the capacity to record whenever and wherever we want, we have become obsessed with documenting our every move. Again, people almost forget the severity of the events that are occurring and instead, just focus on getting it recorded. Since news stations now rely on amateur videos from YouTube to playback during their segments, everyday people try to be the ones to supply them. This puts people in danger because they feel the need to document events no matter the cost, to themselves and to others. When fights breakout in high schools most students stand around and record it instead of getting help. When a natural disaster strikes people stay around to catch it on film rather than getting to safety. While sometimes these can help in investigations, the ease of becoming an amateur filmmaker have put more people in danger than anything else. The advancement of technology has caused people’s mindset to be film first, think second.